Changing the way we compute

A Letter from a Friend!

My name is Dominic and I am a first year Psychology student at the university of Adelaide, South Australia. Before that I was a Network Engineer for six years, but I’m trying something different!

I wanted to thank you for developing the Adam.
I know what it is like trying to roll out a national network expansion, all the while with people breathing down your neck and telling you how much money they are going to lose if you make a mistake. I suspect you are under similar stress while bringing your first product to market, so I wish you the best of luck and my thoughts are with you.

My reason for writing is that I wanted to share some of my thoughts on what I will use my Adam for. I got to thinking about this as I looked at all the electronic (and paper) things I have to carry around with me at university. How many of these could I get rid of if I had the Adam, I wondered?
After pondering my list for a while, I realised that the Adam could potentially replace ALL of these things. Here is how:

The Laptop:
If Adam has the ability to run some kind of word processing or office software (Open Office?), I could use it to write assignments. I could take a small Bluetooth keyboard and perhaps some kind of little stand for the Adam, then set it up on a desk at University or at home, so as to do serious writing. In addition to productivity I could browse the web, watch recorded lectures and check my email.

Audio recorder/MP3 player:
I could use the Adam to record lectures, which would also allow me to take photos or videos of the presentations which are projected. This would be much easier than my current system, which requires me to load the recordings onto my laptop from the recorder and download lecture notes separately from the Univeristy website.

Mobile phone:
I would really, really love to get rid of my mobile phone! The fewer electronic devices I have to carry, the better. If the Adam can make phone calls and supports voice dialling, I could just buy a Bluetooth headset and wouldn’t even have to take Adam out of my bag. How wonderful it would be to simply push a button on my headset, speak a contact name or number and make a phone call! The brilliant thing about the Adam is that is has such good battery life that I could actually use it to replace my mobile phone, providing I put it on charge every night when I got home.

University books:
What could possibly be better than four kilograms of textbooks? Actually many, many things… But I think that Adam would be a fine replacement. A lot of the books which I require for my course are either available from the University in electronic form (for internal resources) or in eBook format from retailers (for text books). The Adam’s PixelQi screen and long battery life would mean that I could pore over these for hours, while not hurting my eyes, carrying heavy books or worrying about library loans.

Fiction books:
I really like my Science Fiction novels, so it is nice to have one or two with me in my spare time. Dan Simmons’s ‘Olympus’ weighs almost as much as another text book, so I would certainly welcome the ability to carry it around with me in electronic form.

Notepad and pens:
I like to take notes during lectures, while writing assignments and during conversations with my lecturers and tutors. You never know when something important might come up, so it pays to be ready to write it down. I could use the Adam for this, be it via an on-screen keyboard or with some kind of handwriting recognition. Either way, most of my notes are short and should not be a problem to use the Adam’s touchscreen for.

Chargers for phone, laptop, etc:
The one feature which I think is being neglected the most by the media is Adam’s fantastic battery life! This alone would be enough to tempt me, as it means I can use Adam all day, making phone calls, typing essays, recording lectures and reading books without ever needing a power socket! Even if it only lasted 8 hours (assuming my use was heavy), this would be enough to see me through my day and back to somewhere I can plug it in.
No more resorting to writing on notepaper because my laptop is flat, nor searching for a desk which is next to a power socket.
Adam’s battery life is a truly wonderful thing, and one of the main reasons I want to use it to replace my laptop (and mobile phone).

All in all, the Adam sounds like it will be a REAL convergence device – a far cry from the other tablets entering the market. Many are trying to run Windows 7, but in doing so reduce battery life, over complicate things and basically just turn their products into laptops without keyboards.
I don’t want another laptop, I want a laptop/phone/textbook/audio-recorder/notebook/pen! 😉 It might even be fun to play the occasional game on Adam, but that is less important and would be taken care of by the Android App Store if we are able to use that in future.

I hope this email finds you all in good health and that everything works out well in the end!

Kindest regards,Dominic

Just got out of bed after prolonged viral fever (it still says 101 deg 😐 ). Have lots for you all (specially the concerned ones)

With Warm Regards

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55 thoughts on “A Letter from a Friend!”

First of all, yikes — here’s hoping you feel much better very soon! Secondly, I totally agree with what Dominic says here. I think that is why so many fans are so worked up about this device, and are dying to see it released. Adam hits all of the geek buttons, pretty much. It delivers (or we hope it will, soon) on the promise presented by the iPad. Get well, sir!

Hi Rohan – Sorry to hear about your temperature. A visit to the doctor must surely be in order if it is prolonged. It was nice that you posted the letter about the useful features, as this suggests that Notion Ink is aiming to provide exactly this kind of convergence device. Good luck, and hope to hear more from you soon. No doubt you’ll have the deluge of impatient and demanding posts, but you’ve still plenty of time to get a good product to market and have massive success with it.

I am not a student carrying around a lot of textbooks, but I want to use the Adam for all of the same reasons! I am a full-time software engineer AND a homeschooling mother for fraternal twin boys who just turned 12 years old. I am always reading stuff during my lunch hour, usually preparing for the next subject that I am going to teach the boys. I read probably 10 times the number of books than we actually use in an effort to find the right books for each son. And on vacations, I like to read lots of fiction novels. And I would love to be able to read all of my RSS feeds while away from my computer – you know, at lunch or a doctor’s waiting office, etc.

Sorry to hear that you are so ill. I hope you get well soon! Besides, I am *dying* to hear more about availabilty and pricing of Adam here in the US!

Hey, did you guys get funding from google? I am speculating this is what has happened and they are collaborating with you to get a one up on Apple. I am confident you are working on releasing a quality product, but please do give us updates and at least a date for pre-order. Make sure your servers can handle the traffic!

I’ve been thinking along those same lines. Every Day I lug around a laptop and books and peripherals. 99% of the functionality could be replaced by the Adam. I know it doesn’t currently have a stylus—and I think that is the only thing on my wishlist that is missing. I’m an artist, and I like working digitally; with a stylus the Adam would be the device I;ve dreamed of for years.

As it is however, it’s close enough that I’ve already put money aside, and I’m patiently waiting for pre-order details. I rarely go with bleeding edge technology, but this is literally the closest thing that I’ve ever seen to a dream and a drawing I made as a child back in the early 80’s. The future is here, and I’m as excited as I was back then just thinking about such a device.

Hi,
I was happy to see an update on your blog… finally!
but actually after reading the news, I still dont get the meaning behind it? what do you wanna tell us with a mail from somebody who wants to use the gamechanging device but still waits just like every of us.
I think at a time like that you should better post about prices, release dates and so on, instead of wasting time with this kind of post.

He gave a complete picture of what i want to do with ADAM, but when ???
My college days are nearing completion. Email is nice but you could have added approx. month (atleast) of release.
Unexpected Update but good one for newbies.
This is the season where real viruses get good transport facilities. You have to be careful with many carriers & cases (people) around you. Try to stay away from them or just cover your mouth and nose openings around them.

Like everyone I am eager. However you really need to work on your PR. Hire a PR Person to keep everyone updated because it looks like to me people are very angry and disappointed. You should really get someone to talk about what is going on. Even if it is once every two weeks. Just little updates as to where you are with it. Hope you feel better from the fever!

I fully agree with Dominic,concerning the NIA uses.
And I’m quite happy to hear that you will probably include the possibility to write on-screen with a stylus. Otherwise you would’nt have published that part of the mail,would’nt you?:-)
But please let us know something about the release date: I am a student too,and I need to make plans for my september-geekstudent-shopping 🙂

Dominc’s comment is an outline of why there was an still is, in a smaller groupf of people, such enthusiasm, despair and disillusion on the interminable wait for this tablet. The Adam and the fabled MSF Courier was the dream of students, creatives, and anyone looking for an all purpose, flexible PDA. It will happen.

well put Dominic. I want to use Adam for many of the same functions. I hope to use in the field for project management (construction). Handwriting recognition (even with my finger or stylus) would be very much appreciated.

Productivity apps are essential (open office?); a good calendar, email, contacts app too (I find MS Outlook actually works very well in this respect…. one of the best things to come out of MS)

Speaking solely for myself, but I’m sure I echo the thoughts of others, I’m very sorry to hear that you have been ill and equally happy to hear you are on the road to recovery.

Looking forward to hearing the additional news you mention above in the next day or two. That promise is very much like what a person hears from a customer service department regarding a warranty repair. Then the customer waits to see if they keep it.

Nice article by Dominic. These are just some of the reasons we want ADAM ASAP 🙂 Sorry to note that you were down with fever. Wish you a speedy recovery. Hope you will soon deliver the news everyone is waiting for!! its very disappointing that there are no latest videos of the production version of adam yet!! we are waiting painfully for any latest feeds on ADAM. Please release some latest hands on videos of ADAM!! Thanks

Thanks for the reminder about why I got excited about Adam in the first place- the promise of a real convergence device, not a watered down laptop or a super-sized smartphone.

I’ve been looking around trying to figure out what I’ll buy if I don’t get the Adam. I’d probably end up getting a tablet netbook and an eReader. It would cost me about $450, I would have to carry around two devices, and I’d be sacrificing performance while missing out on Adam’s superior battery life, camera, 3G access, and the Android + Adam app market.

So obviously, if you show you can deliver on the things Dominic mentioned at a competitive price I’d pre-order an Adam today!

I agree with the idea of a convergance device. I work away and often take several books and a notebook with me – taking up quite a bit of space. I was looking to replace that with an e-reader or iPad until I saw this.
Best of both worlds. 3G should mean I can use skype – I hope.
Cant wait for this to hit the shelves but I will, dont want to carry my phone, laptop and books if I can have them all in 1.
Paul.
Also in Australia.

I concurr with the e-mail en all respects. Even the phone call bit. Though I hadn’t said anything because I wanted to keep down the tone of harassment for more features and whatnot. I actually also want to use it to give private tutoring classes (connect it to an HDTV and use it as a smartboard of sorts).

Can’t wait to see what you mean by “lots” for us.

But also, take care, get better. I honestly wouldn’t mind a delay if the tradeoff is your health. I forget what 101 is in Celsius (Canucks and Mexicans use ºC for body temp and I’m both) but any kind of fever is generally not a good thing. I hope you get feel better and that the fever breaks soon. If nothing else just take it easy for the weekend so that your body can handle the loads of next week.

thats pretty much what I am waiting for the ADAM for as i am just about to start a phd and ebook readers don’t have the quality i need for scientific journals whereas I think that the QI screen will be able to cope very well.

So if you want some marketing speil about using adam in an academic environment (cancer research/molecular biology) il be happy to send photos of the adam looking comfy in a lab, just give me to oppertunity to buy one!

It is good to hear that you are okay after being sick! That must suck- 101 is never good.

I agree with Dominic- the Adam could potentially replace a lot of clutter in my life. I wait eagerly for its release in the western hemisphere, I am very excited! Good luck managing a global start-up, which can’t be easy.

Just one little piece of information on a possible debut, that’s all we’re asking for. We all know it’s the best tablet, but the longer we wait, the longer we have to deal with our friends and colleagues flaunting their iPad’s and HTC Evo’s!

I would have to 100% agree. If I can get my hands on an Adam it will change how I do things. I am planning on using to change how I interact and trouble shoot the equipment I am responsible for. I am building a ground up interactive communication network for my workers that eliminates confusion, increases communications, and eliminates the use of up to two laptops. My list of options just keep on coming. My only concern is how long will I have to wait to get a hold of one and where to get it here in Michigan USA.
I just hope you are feeling better Rohan and don’t worry many many people are behind you and hoping the Adam soars soon. We all know it will be worth the wait.
Get better soon,
Josh

Dominic, you have shared not only your thoughts but lots of us! Thanks.
Rohan, I too desperately need Adam for watching movies!!! Ya, I travel 250 miles in a month (to my native) and I really need a powerfull handheld device to watch movies, browse Internet. Thanks for producing Adam.
Best of luck.
Karthikeyan R

I think we can all relate to the thoughts of Dominic, I think the vast majority of us here view this tablet as something revolutionary.

And that is the precise reasons the vast majority of us are so upset about the failure of the company to deliver to market. In some ways, Notion Ink should be flattered we care enough to post angry things on your WordPress, when was the last time people were begging a company with virtually no market recognition to let us buy your product?

Your last lines are as cryptic as ever. I think a lot of us are at the limits of our patience with regards to this product release. We’ve seen working prototype silica, we want a real product.

I hope you feel better. I was eagerly waiting for your next blog. I checked almost everyday but nothing. After a month I read something from you. I was expecting you to give some updates on ADAM release. But what is this? no offense.. I liked the all ideas from dominic. But at least some updates about ADAM I think now everyone knows what ADAM is going to have. We really want it in our hands. I am in US and was going to buy iPad. I did not because ADAM looked very impressive. I new IIT has some best brains and now want to see what they have created. Can you please please give some updates? When are you going to release in US?

Btw, I had to register and say that this is getting boring. We want real status updates!! All of us have been waiting for so long!

The lack of comments on this post says it all. You guys are driving away the customers. They will only come back when the ADAM is released. Or worse. They’ll never come back if something similar to ADAM gets launched by another company.

For several weeks now, I’ve spent some amount of time nearly every evening searching various sites and posts for news related to Adam hardware/software, pricing, and release dates. I am a published author, and also managing editor for a local magazine, and I really believe that a product like Adam will be a Godsend for someone like me.

I’ve been intrigued by the tablet concept for years, but am not willing to pay exorbitant prices just for the supposed privilege of owning a proprietary, locked-down device. I knew that, eventually, somebody would step up to the plate and find a way to design and produce a product for those of us who admire and support open architecture, and who are also on a budget. I am beginning to believe that Adam will be that product.

My uses for the device would also be fairly diverse. I need to be able to do word-processing for manuscript creation and page layout. I need a high-quality display and the ability to use a graphics program like Gimp for cover design and photo manipulation. And, I need to be able to read e-books in various formats, including e-pub, pdf, html, etc.

Besides that, I would very much enjoy not being tied to my desk when checking emails, searching the web or listening to podcasts, using voip, or the plethora of things I currently do with my netbook.

To be able to do these things and more, at a reasonable price, and with access to open source software, would frankly thrill me no end. So, I will keep checking this site and others, waiting patiently to see if this grand vision called Adam comes to fruition. I truly hope that it does, because I, for one, am ready.

Thank you Notion Ink for all the hard work, and thank you, Dominic, for a great post!

I would just like to say I agree 100% with the above. If you can include phone functions accessed through bluetooth (along w/ the already announced features of: the pixel-qi screen, the video capabilities, Flash functionality, and battery life) no other tablet can touch you.

Video calls, either through GSM or via a voip client through HSDPA 3g/WLAN

In the car:
Entertainment system for the kids.
Turn by turn navigation with the built in A-GPS and software like Garmin or Copilot.

At home:
Entertainment system – with the built in HDMI port, it can be hooked up to any flatscreen monitor, and you can easily have a usb drive connected to it for storage of video/audio/pictures/etc

All of the above will be easily available as the Adam comes with android, and all these things are already available on the android market now (just need to be ported to the tablet version for better screen resolution)

You can’t use the Adam for anything. It doesn’t exist except as some prototype that keeps changing. Its sad to read this letter from someone planning to use a device that isn’t available and may never be available.

I suspect we’ll all be buying a Pixel Qi screen but it won’t be on a computer tablet named Adam.

I am a bit scared that since you adam team is delayed in delivering the product, they might compromize on the quality control part of the task. Please ensure that before releasing the product the QC is fully done and validated. While we are supporting your efforts, we are observing that even google and apple are prone to errors these days. Please immediately release a white paper with all tech specs and qc scenious with all user scenarious that you have validated on the product. Please also let us know the SDK Language framework that is supposed to be thrown out for developer community. What are the specs of your operating system and what programming attributes does the SDK support. I am writing this because I am a big disappointed by your lack of transparent communications and excuses like “suffering from fever” e.t.c..